The gallery is 1,100 square feet (100 m2) on the fourth floor inside the former headquarters of THOR construction companies,[1] now known as the Regional Acceleration Center,[2] at the intersection of Penn and Plymouth Avenues in North Minneapolis.

Civil rights attorney/writer Tina Burnside and education administrator Coventry Cowens met in 2017, and together, in September 2018, the two founded MAAHMG as one of the state's first African American history museums.

[8][9] In 2022, the museum presented Early African Americans of Southeast Minnesota by historian Mica Anders, and several public online events in February for Black History Month.

[3] A black innovation exhibit features architect Clarence Wigington, and Reatha King, the former General Mills executive who earlier developed tubing for Apollo 11.

[3] Opening on January 27, 2024, in celebration of Black History Month, the artist-in-residence exhibition "Okra and Indigo," explores the connections between African American heritage and foodways through artist Azania Tripp’s collage pieces including community portraits and furniture design.